Caring For Teeth With Crowns

After a dental procedure, the treated tooth is covered with a tooth-shaped cap known as dental crown. A dental crown supports a weak tooth, restores the shape and size of a broken or decaying tooth and even encases a severely discolored denture. To preserve the restored teeth for a long time, it is necessary to take proper care of the teeth with crowns.

Caring For Teeth With Crowns

Brushing

Brushing the teeth with crowns at least twice a day helps to increase the lifespan of the dental crowns. Toothbrushes with soft and round-ended bristles are ideal for brushing teeth with crowns.

The soft bristles will neither scratch the restored teeth nor irritate the gum line. After selecting the appropriate toothbrush, follow the right technique for brushing the teeth.

With a back and forth motion, gently brush the outer surfaces and the inner surfaces of the teeth. Clean the back of the front teeth with upward and downward strokes of the toothbrush.

With back and forth motions clean the biting surface of the teeth. Discard your toothbrush after every three or four months. When used for a longer period, the germs growing on the bristles increase the risk of dental infections.

Removing plaques from the teeth is the main goal of brushing. To prevent accumulation of plaque, it is necessary to brush the teeth after eating. While brushing twice a day is considered sufficient for maintaining your oral health, if you eat and drink too often, it is advisable to brush more than twice a day, especially after eating sugary or starchy foods.

To suppress the harmful activities of the bacteria in your mouth, always brush your teeth after dinner or before going to bed. In the morning, instead of brushing your teeth immediately after waking up, brushing the teeth after breakfast will inhibit bacterial growth in your mouth for several hours.

Flossing

The bristles of the toothbrush cannot reach about 30 to 40 percent area of the teeth, especially the areas where the teeth meet the gum line. To clean the areas that cannot be accessed by toothbrushes, you should floss at least once each day.

Regular flossing is essential for preserving teeth with dental crowns. While the brushing technique is same for natural teeth and teeth with crown, there may be slight variation in the flossing technique while cleaning the dental crowns. Instead of lifting the floss out, slide out the floss when you have teeth covered with dental crowns.

Quit Bad Oral Habits

Caring for teeth with crowns also involves quitting bad oral habits that accelerate wear and tear of the dental crowns. Clenching and grinding the teeth can damage the dental crowns. Biting or chewing hard substances may fracture the dental crowns.

Using the teeth for opening packages and biting fingernails may damage the porcelain crowns. During a dental procedure, your dentist may place a temporary crown on a tooth before the final tooth restoration process.

Until the temporary dental crown is replaced with a permanent one, avoid chewing gums, sticky foods such as caramel and hard foods. On average, dental crowns last for five to fifteen years. However, the longevity of the dental crowns can be increased substantially by taking proper care of the teeth with dental crowns.